𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒, thomas

[ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐄 ] 𝟎𝟎𝟏

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟎𝟎𝟏

SHE WOKE UP WITH A VOICE IN HER HEAD, SOFTLY CALLING HER NAME, though the voice had faded away already, like it had fallen away into the void and will never come back. As if the voice knew she was waking up. She barely lift her lids, a light stabbed her eyes, making them to shut before she slowly opened them again. She only met with blurred and peculiar surroundings. Utterly disoriented, unable to come to her senses, only found herself in a strangest place. Her tired eyes scanned around the room, surrounded by the walls made of bamboo, wood and logs. Daylight peered through the tiny gaps above her and through a window just near the bed with a sheet used as a curtain hanging above it.

She slowly pushed herself to sit up, pulled the blanket aside and pulled her legs over the cot until her feet were on the ground. She stood up almost cautiously, her head felt like it was floating while her body was so heavy, she sat back down on the cot until the lightheadedness stopped. She can hear people talking outside distantly, there were noises out there, the sounds of people working and shouting at each other, and distant animal noises.

The strangest and scary part was . . . she had no idea where she was and how she got here.

There was only one word that popped into her mind like it was smeared into her brain for a simple reason: GALE. Gale. At first, she didn't know what it meant or why it was the first thing that came across her mind. A snippet of memory, along with a foreign voice in her head, a boyish voice saying "Gale" over and over, within her absent of memories.

Then there was nothing else. Just the word and her sudden knowledge of everything else. Like the world, somehow she can picture snow, what it looks like, how leaves can turn from green to orange as they eventually descent during a cold season and trees regrow their leaves in warm season. She can picture any animals, knowing they're either herbivores or carnivores. She can put an image of a busy street with people on it, surrounded by skyscrapers and she can picture a green forest. She can imagine herself swimming and riding a bike. All that simple knowledge, she knew how the world works. But except for one thing, which is her past.

She couldn't remember anything like how she got here, where she was, where she was before, who she was. She can't even remember a face, she couldn't picture anyone familiar. Anyone she knew, there was no one. She was on the verge of panic as she couldn't remember where she came from, her home, her parents . . . and her name.

Gale, Gale, Gale, the word kept coming back to her no matter what. But then it hit her . . .

My name is Gale.

She couldn't understand how this was possible, the sudden knowledge of everything else, her name but except for how she got here or where she is. Perhaps she was experiencing amnesia? Maybe she had a terrible accident? Yet, no sign of any injuries on her besides the slight headache and lightheadedness.

She attempted to stand up again, met with lightness in her head to toe again, but she held herself up with one hand on the cot to get rid of the lightness. It went away slowly, she glanced around the odd-looking room, the place looked like it was hand-crafted, used only bamboos and wood, no flooring but only the ground of dirt. She didn't realize she was barefooted, though there were a pair of brown ankle boots on the ground next to the cot. Her attention was on a window, light breeze coming through it and brushing the ragged-curtain. She sat back down again to put on the boots before went over to the window. Taking a couple of steps felt like baby steps, suppose how it is when you slept too long, she had no idea how long she slept.